That’s why the Hunt family also had two knight orders: one in the capital and one in the grand duchy.

Of course, Luke would know this too.

Charlie didn’t want Luke and Kieran to become close.

Who was she to tell others to wash away their wounds?

But Charlie wanted to remind Luke once again that Kieran was different from those who caused his family’s death.

At the very least, she had to prevent him from killing her.

“I guess I asked something insensitive. I just thought it might be difficult to manage because it’s so far away…”

“No, it’s fine. There are some parts that we manage separately due to the distance.”

“Really?”

Charlie brightened up.

It was as if a pair of invisible ears that had been drooping suddenly perked up.

‘Does the Grand Duke have a taste for cute women?’

Kieran’s face softened once again.

“Yes.”

“I think Kieran is a good person. Honest, polite, humble, and leading by example.”

Kieran was at a loss with the rapid-fire compliments.

“Th-thank you.”

“As you can see, it’s all men here.”

While conversing with Kieran, Charlie’s gaze was fixed on Hector.

“Y-yes…”

“So I think it would be nice to have tea together like this occasionally…”

Hector, who understood her perfectly, readily agreed.

“That’s fine.”

A sense of foreboding made Kieran’s shoulders twitch.

Despite clearly seeing this, Charlie continued without concern.

There’s nothing as petty and mean as pulling rank, but she had no other choice.

And it was all to save Kieran.

And Luke, who was Hector’s family.

“How about you, Kieran? I hope I’m not being rude by thoughtlessly asking for tea time during the expedition. I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable and displeased…”

At that moment, Hector’s brow furrowed.

“Rude?!”

Kieran hurriedly answered.

“No, not at all. That’s not the case at all.”

Reflecting his urgency, Kieran’s body had leaned forward a bit.

“I’d like that too. I was just thinking of taking a break with tea once a day.”

Charlie smiled broadly.

With this, tea time with Kieran was confirmed.

* * *

“What?!”

Noel, who had woken up from an oversleeping, doubted his ears.

“Why is Kieran going to the Hunt camp?”

His face, now devoid of any smile, contorted.

“Did that Luke or whatever guy mess with him?!”

Josh, the vice commander of the Wilkins knight order, answered.

“A woman in a robe forcibly grabbed the commander’s hand and disappeared into the Hunt camp with that Luke person.”

“Robe?”

Noel’s momentum, which seemed ready to rush out immediately, suddenly subsided.

[Lady Charlie served tea.]

Charlie.

The woman who moved the great Grand Duke Hector.

Not only that, but Cedric’s behavior was also somewhat suspicious.

He didn’t antagonize Noel’s family or Kieran, and even showed goodwill.

“It’s been quite a while, and he hasn’t returned. I wonder if something happened.”

“……”

As Noel remained silent, Josh continued.

“I’m worried he might be suffering some humiliation.”

“Humiliation?”

“Didn’t you see how they treated the commander rudely? Even when he lost the card, they laughed at the commander and didn’t hesitate to make disparaging remarks about our family.”

Josh, observing Noel’s reaction, added.

“Besides, the commander always holds back to avoid causing worry, no matter what happens…”

Josh’s words made sense.

Kieran had always handled most situations without reporting, dealing with them on his own.

Even the incident of her going to find the card, and the fact that it was given by the late Emperor Constanti. Noel had learned all of this through Josh.

[Lady Charlie gave it to me.]

But Kieran’s face had been bright when he came with the cake as a gift the other day.

“How long has it been?”

“She left when the sun was high, and she’s still not back.”

But they couldn’t leave Kieran in the Hunt camp indefinitely.

Just as Noel was about to get up, it happened.

“I guess I should go check.”

“Where are you going?”

Kieran, who had just returned, blocked Noel’s way.

“Kieran!”

Noel rushed to Kieran in one breath.

“Are you okay?”

Before Kieran could answer, Noel’s barrage of questions poured out.

“Did something happen at the Hunt camp? Did that Luke bastard humiliate you? Surely, Hector didn’t torture you?! Or did he make you crawl on the ground? They say Hector has a nasty personality and won’t even tolerate eye contact.”

“……”

Noel circled around Kieran, looking for injuries.

Kieran, already troubled and now even more distracted, let out a sigh.

“I just had coffee and came back.”

“Coffee?”

“Yes, so please return to your duties now.”

Noel’s steps, which had been examining Kieran with worried eyes, came to an abrupt halt.

“What does that have to do with this?”

As if he had never made a fuss, Noel frowned with an irritated expression.

“It’s what you should be doing originally. And I’ll be away tomorrow afternoon.”

“Away? Why?!”

“I’m going to have coffee with Lady Charlie. And this.”

Fearing Noel might refuse, Kieran quickly handed over the package he had brought.

“What’s this?”

“Lady Charlie gave it to me.”

“Is it carrot cake again?”

“No, it’s venison.”

“Venison?”

“She says it’s stag meat.”

Noel stared blankly at the ribbon-shaped string wrapped around the packaging.

* * *

In the deep night when everyone was asleep.

A shadow sitting alone in the darkness trembled slightly.

[Now Louis will travel alone. A wonderful journey like the heroes do.]

Luke sat by the stream, wiping away tears.

In his hand was the red magic stone his mother had given him.

[Do you remember when we went to your aunt’s house in the north with mom?]

“Ryunger village…”

[Yes, that’s right. As expected, our Louis is smart. Now, from here on, you need to remember what mom says carefully. Take this and go find a place called Adeli Trading Company, and ask them to exchange it for trangs. If they offer less than 300 trangs, tell them you’ll go somewhere else. Understand?]

“But 300 trangs is too cheap. This can’t be bought even for a billion rangs…”

Luke smiled sadly.

[With that money, you’ll travel alone to your aunt’s house in the north. Buy that new wooden sword you wanted last time, and eat delicious food too. Just like a wonderful hero.]

Even now, when he closed his eyes, the image of his mother that day was still vividly clear as if she were right in front of him.

[I’ll defeat the bad monsters and come back soon. Don’t worry, mom can find you with teleportation magic wherever you are, so just go to your aunt’s house.]

At that time, Luke didn’t realize that she couldn’t come to find him using teleportation magic.

[Mom… Mom is sorry. I couldn’t even buy you that wooden sword you wanted… Mom is so sorry.]

Even in the moment when death was approaching, was she haunted by the thought of not being able to buy him something?

“You should have just abandoned me and run away…”

Luke didn’t sell his mother’s magic stone.

He didn’t buy the wooden sword he had wanted so badly either.

[This is what your maternal grandfather gave me.]

He just couldn’t bring himself to sell it.

Even at his young age, Luke knew what selling it would mean.

So Luke waited endlessly in the place he was left, hoping his mother and father would return.

But even after several days passed, Luke was still alone.

He was hungry and scared of the unfamiliar village.

But more than that, he was afraid of losing his family.

As Luke’s life was fading away on one such day, someone in a black robe approached him.

[That magic stone you have. Where did you get it?]

The magic stone Luke had was one given to the Hunt Knight Order.

There was no way Hector wouldn’t recognize that resonance.

The Hunt Knight Order received benefits to ensure a comfortable life even for their descendants.

So it was impossible for someone to be lying on the street, dying of hunger.

[Your grandfather was a wonderful knight. He served a precious Grand Duke with hair like the night sky and eyes like flames.]

Black hair and red eyes.

Luke immediately clung to Hector and begged him to save his mother and father.

A child instinctively knows when their parents have died.

[Take it, I’ll help you find your family.]

The hand extended to him was smaller than his father’s, but it felt stronger than anything in the world.

And that was the first meeting between Hector and Luke.

“I’m sorry for surviving alone… I was too young then, I’m sorry…”

Luke sobbed, clutching his mother’s keepsake.

Today was the anniversary of Luke’s separation from his family and his parents’ death.

* * *

By now, the dawn twilight had settled over the encampment.

The tears that had been falling uncontrollably had also subsided.

As if nothing was left but emptiness, a chilly wind blew.

Whoosh–

A red flame bloomed in front of Luke.

Soon after, a warm heat enveloped his cold body.

“Your Grace!”

Luke hurriedly stood up.

“That… I couldn’t sleep, so…”

Luke hesitated, afraid that he might be scolded for sneaking out of the tent.

“It’s fine.”

Hector didn’t reprimand him.

Instead, he draped a black cloak over Luke’s drooping shoulders.

“Ah…”

Hector spoke, indifferently looking at the flame he had created.

“It’s cold.”

Luke smiled sheepishly.

He felt a soft touch on his stiffened fingertips.

“Thank you…”

For a moment, silence flowed between the two.

As warmth began to return to his cold body, a quiet voice cut through the dawn air.

“Charlie called you family.”

Hector looked up at the still dark sky.